Meng Yu’s voice was polite but cooler than usual; he disliked using money to disrupt his work. The last time this happened, a wealthy woman had recharged ten thousand yuan on his hotline with no medical questions, simply wanting to chat.
“Doctor Meng is quite popular, it seems,” Lu Shian’s sarcastic voice drifted through the phone.
Meng Yu paused for a moment. “President Lu?”
“Now, I want you to send me your private number immediately.”
Having said his piece, Lu Shian hung up the phone. For fifty thousand yuan, he had only spoken two sentences. Lu Shian had played the fool many times in his life, but this was likely his most expensive mistake yet.
Meng Yu set the phone down. Beside him, Tang Linyan looked as though he had swallowed a fly. “Master, you called him President Lu. Is he that bald chairman?”
“Tang Linyan, I have reminded you many times. You are not allowed to call him that again. This is the last time. If there is a next time, I will not have room for you here.”
Seeing Meng Yu’s rare seriousness, Tang Linyan knew he meant it and immediately changed his tune. “Fine, Master, I was wrong. Let us call him the domineering CEO. I will call him that from now on, alright?”
Meng Yu said nothing, which served as a silent agreement. Tang Linyan continued to gossip. “He spent fifty thousand yuan just to call you. What did he say? Why did he hang up so fast? That was not worth fifty thousand at all.”
“Gossip less during work hours. Go call the next patient.”
After sending Lu Shian a text, Meng Yu set his phone aside and continued his clinic duties. Lu Shian waited with his phone in hand. When he saw a short message come in, he quickly tapped it open.
[Shishi, I am busy. This is my number; save it.]
Lu Shian’s mood improved slightly. He clicked on Meng Yu’s number to create a new contact, but he hesitated when it came to editing the name. After thinking for thirty seconds, he finally typed “Little Lover” in the name field. He copied Meng Yu’s number and pasted it directly into the WeChat search bar. He hit search, and a business card named “Shuo Shi Chi” popped up. The profile picture was an image of a perfume lemon. Lu Shian immediately recognized it as the one Meng Yu kept on his balcony.
Lu Shian stared at the profile picture with some disdain. Using a plant as a profile picture made him look like a woman in her fifties. He added the contact and then, on a whim, changed his own WeChat name to “Na Shi Kuai.” Having finished this, he tossed his phone aside and went to eat.
The WeChat verification was not approved until after 1:00 PM. Meng Yu had finished seeing all his morning patients and only checked his phone while eating at the cafeteria. When Meng Yu called, Lu Shian was lying on the large bed in the office lounge for his afternoon nap. No one usually called Lu Shian during his nap, and when the ringtone sounded, he was somewhat annoyed. Picking up the phone and seeing the words “Little Lover” on the screen, his drowsiness vanished.
“Has Doctor Meng finally remembered to call his benefactor?” Having just woken up, Lu Shian’s voice was slightly raspy.
“Were you napping? Sorry for waking you.”
Lu Shian sat up and checked the time. “I have a social engagement this afternoon, so I was planning to get up anyway.”
Meng Yu hummed in response and then asked, “Your WeChat name, did you change it to match mine?”
Lu Shian licked his lips, feeling a bit guilty. “How can you tell it is a matching name?”
Meng Yu asked back with a smile, “Shuo Shi Chi, Na Shi Kuai. If those are not couple names, are they brother names?”
Lu Shian let out a scoff. As he climbed out of bed, he asked, “Are you not napping?”
“I just finished eating. I am about to start work.”
Lu Shian’s heart twinged for some inexplicable reason. Meng Yu was working so hard and earning so much money probably to take care of his mother and sister. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, Lu Shian remained silent for a moment before saying, “I will transfer two million to your account later. Contact me whenever you have time.”
On the other end of the line, Meng Yu felt numb. “It has not even been a month. This is only the second day and you are giving me money. Is President Lu not afraid I will run away with it?”
“I have an agreement. If you run, I will find a lawyer to sue you.” Lu Shian wedged the phone between his ear and shoulder, tilting his head to straighten his tie in the mirror.
“Can you publicly sue me for something like this?”
“If you dare to run, I will dare to sue.”
Meng Yu was truly exasperated into laughter by Lu Shian. “Fine. I worked overtime last night, so I swapped my night shift for tonight. I have time after work. Does President Lu have needs tonight?”
Lu Shian thought for a moment and said succinctly, “I will have the driver pick you up after work.”
“Give me the address; I will come myself.”
Lu Shian asked back, “Afraid your colleagues will find out?”
Meng Yu did not deny it. “Yes. Your car is too eye catching.”
Meng Yu would not mind being discovered if their relationship were different, but as they were currently lovers, he did not want anyone around him to know about this status. Lu Shian insisted, “I will have the driver park further away.”
Unable to win the argument, Meng Yu had to agree. On the way from the cafeteria back to the department, Meng Yu was about to put his phone in his pocket when a notification sounded. It was a bank transfer. Meng Yu opened it to see that Lu Shian had transferred two million to the account he had provided last time.
Meng Yu looked at the long string of digits with a sense of helplessness. Adding the fifty thousand from last time, it made two hundred and fifty. He opened WeChat, opened the conversation box pinned to the top labeled [Shishi], and sent a message: [Thank you, Benefactor Lu.]
With fifteen minutes left before work, Meng Yu returned to the office. Tang Linyan was napping with his head on the desk, while a few other doctors were quietly gossiping. Meng Yu returned to his seat and stared at his phone screen, waiting for a reply. Five minutes passed. Just as Meng Yu thought Lu Shian would not respond, a video appeared in their chat. Meng Yu played it on mute. The footage showed the two of them hugging and kissing in the bar.
Meng Yu watched it through with a faint smile and then saved it to his favorites. He knew that bar was owned by Lu Shian’s childhood friend, Mu Yunzhou. If the video had not leaked, it must have been taken by Mu Yunzhou’s people. However, he had been too reckless that night; he should not have done such things with Lu Shian in public. If it were caught by the wrong person, it would ultimately affect Lu Shian.
He cleared his thoughts and typed quickly: [It looks just like a little movie.]